Mad Mad Max

Any tips on how to make EXACT copies of wire ? In other words I need to make 4 exact shaped copies using 3/32 wire. I have tried several types of wire benders and the closest I've come thus far is a piece of 1/4" plywood and a K&S Mighty Bender. The plywood is drilled so it goes over the 2 posts on the Bender. Then I draw the shape I need on the plywood, make the wire where bends are needed, then try to bend the wire. Only I can't seem get the 4 pieces as same. Any tips or advice is most appreciated!

foodstick

Not sure this will work for you, but clean off the wire with some alcohol. Stand them up and tape them together so they are next to each ..and will lay out flat. Tape them every few inches. Then try to bend them all at the same time in your mighty wire bender.

H5606

Don't know if it will fit in your bending tool but have had success bending identical parts by taping the unbent blanks so they're lined up abreast each other like this: llll - using a hammer, vise, and scrap aluminum bent around the vise jaws to allow nice radius on mat'l being bent. Makes bends on all the parts at the same time while ensuring accuracy.

smithfj

I feel for you as I have had the same problem. I took a Dremel metal grinding tool and indexed the top of the bend post so I could line my marks to it. I also used vise grips to clamp the wire to the non-bend post and that helped some. I think a lot of it has to do with the music wire hardness varying in different areas of the wire. I'll keep watching for better techniques.
Frank

ETpilot

There are many different jigs used to bend wire. Maybe If you post a picture or drawing of your wire form you may get a good suggestion that will work for you. I've never used the K&S bender. What I have found using my homemade bender is that you need a good means of holding the wire as you make your bend. If the wire slips it will throw everything off. That is what I experienced early on testing. I made the bender mainly for coiled tail wheel assemblies for my tail draggers.

On my next build I will be making a wire left and right main gear that need to match. I am thinking of using my bender with plywood as a table for drawing the form as in OP idea. Will see how that works out. I also use toe-in in my main gear so I'll have to think about that.

I normally use aluminum flat for main gears. I have in my head a bender for, maybe, easily bending aluminum flat. I need to work on that when I have time.

Mad Mad Max

Thanks guys for the great suggestions! I'm going to try H5606's "stack" method and I really like smithfj's idea of indexing the posts. I can't really try bending wire yet. Some other non-modeling needs have come up that needs to be addressed. Figures, too many demands that interfere with models just isn't fair!

allanflowers

Bending music wire was always a frustrating endeavor for me when I was producing low production RC plane kits. I used a K&B bender, attached to a piece of plywood, and was ultimately able to get what I needed. As mentioned by others, if the wire slips, the results will be erratic – so clamping is necessary.Also all kinds of guide lines and blocks on the plywood are a help, not just where the wire goes but how far you have to swing the handle to allow for spring-back.

Normally, my bends were two or three and all in the same plane. If they are in different planes, it becomes much more difficult to maintain consistency.In my case, the fact that I needed 30 or more pairs was a help, for two reasons. It gave me more trys to refine my system and I could usually find matching pairs – making use of most of my attempts.Two other techniques: final trimming of the ends AFTER the bends - and manually tweaking a part afterward to get it closer to spec.

Mad Mad Max

Well, after trying all these good suggestions I did manage to make some of the required shapes (using a lot of wire!). But I decided to bit the bullet and ended up re-engineering the wire shape to avoid the initial problem. Can't thank you enough for your help!!